The Attorney-General has accused former National Food and Buffer Stock Company Chief Executive Officer, Abdul-Wahab Hanan Aludiba, of allegedly presenting an unrelated court ruling to a bank in an attempt to withdraw money from a frozen account.
The allegation is contained in an affidavit supporting the State’s application to revoke the court order that permitted Mr Aludiba to travel outside Ghana for medical treatment.
According to the Attorney-General, the former NAFCO boss allegedly sought to rely on a ruling involving landed properties to create the impression that restrictions placed on his bank accounts had also been lifted.
“The said ruling was in respect of the court freezing confirmation order of a completely different set of assets, namely, landed properties and not the said bank accounts,” the affidavit states.
The State maintains that the bank accounts remained subject to valid freezing orders secured by the Economic and Organised Crime Office.
It further alleges that Mr Aludiba presented the ruling to Republic Bank shortly before his scheduled departure from Ghana and attempted to gain access to funds held in the restricted account.
However, the bank reportedly declined to process the transaction and subsequently brought the matter to the attention of investigators.
The Attorney-General argues that the alleged conduct raises serious concerns about Mr Aludiba’s willingness to comply with existing court orders and his commitment to returning to Ghana to continue facing trial.
The State is therefore asking the High Court to reconsider and cancel the permission previously granted to him to travel to the United Kingdom.
Mr Aludiba was arrested at the Kotoka International Airport on July 4 while preparing to leave the country under the authority of the travel order.
Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai said the arrest was triggered by what he described as an alleged attempt by Mr Aludiba to use false means to empty the frozen bank account.
Mr Aludiba is currently standing trial over allegations of stealing and causing financial loss to the State during his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of the National Food and Buffer Stock Company.
His legal team has rejected the allegations surrounding the bank account, insisting that the claims made against their client are inaccurate.
The court is expected to determine whether the new allegations presented by the Attorney-General are sufficient to justify withdrawing Mr Aludiba’s permission to travel.
The claims contained in the affidavit remain allegations and have not yet been proven by a court.
